I was on my way to the castle where Fenelon first saw the light, and in
order to reach it I had to cross the river. An old flat-bottomed boat,
built for conveying men, asses, and other animals from one side to the
other, lay off the bank, and two girls, who were in charge of a flock of
geese as well as of the ferry, were willing to take me across. While the
elder ferried, the younger examined me carefully at close quarters,
and apparently with much interest. Presently she asked me if I sold
writing-paper. After landing, I soon reached the village of St. Mondane.
Here I halted at an inn in the shadow of old walnut-trees. A few yards off,
under one of the great trees, was a high wooden crucifix, around which some
twenty or thirty geese were standing or lying down, all in a digestive or
contemplative mood, and through the openings between the boles and the
branches were seen the sunlit meadows sloping to the low willows and the
flashing river.
From St. Mondane a charming road or lane between very high banks that are
almost cliffs leads upward to the Chateau de la Motte-Fenelon, where, in
1651, was born Francois de Salignac de la Motte, known to the world as
Fenelon.
Pages:
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114